Influence of Aggregate Mineral Grain Size and Size Distribution on Pavement Surface Microtexture Deterioration
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 150, Issue 2
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of mineral grain size and grain size distribution of aggregates on the deterioration of pavement surface microtexture. For the study, aggregates were collected from nine different sources to cover a wide variation in mineralogical type. The grain size parameters were obtained by detecting mineral grain boundaries using scanning electron microscope electron back scattered diffraction (SEM EBSD) analysis on thin sections prepared from the aggregates. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was also carried out on thin sections of all aggregate types to determine their mineralogical composition. Microtexture deterioration was measured by collecting the British pendulum number (BPN) of the aggregate after every hour of polishing for six hours using an accelerated polishing machine. From the mineral composition analysis, it was observed that the aggregates in the study belonged to three rock types: granite, amphibolite, and basalt (three sources of each type). The BPN values of the polished stones indicated that aggregates with finer grains offer more resistance to polishing. Statistical analysis of the test results also suggests that a wide variation in grain sizes in aggregates positively contributes to resistance against polishing. The study confirmed that, for a given rock type, coarse aggregates with finer grains and greater variation in grain size can better withstand microtexture deterioration caused by mechanical polishing from vehicular loads when used in the surface course of pavements.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.
Acknowledgments
The authors want to acknowledge the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) (A statutory body of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India) for support as a funding agency to continue the project entitled Pavement surface characteristics for safe and sustainable Indian roads (Grant number: ECR/2018/001422/ES).
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 150 • Issue 2 • June 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 3, 2023
Accepted: Dec 26, 2023
Published online: Mar 25, 2024
Published in print: Jun 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Aug 25, 2024
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